Biblical Christianity from Peter DeHaan

News Release: Byline Blog Enjoys New Look On WordPress Platform

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date June 28, 2013

Peter DeHaan’s Writing Blog Facilitates Reader Interaction and Fosters Better Connections

Mattawan, Michigan, Jun 28, 2013—Peter DeHaan’s writing blog, Byline, celebrates thirty months of posts and reader comments with a fresh façade, supported by a robust platform.

Powered by WordPress, the leading blogging platform, the revised Byline blog is greatly improved, with a clean, new format to make reading easier.

The blog features a more robust delivery of posts via email or RSS feed. Readers can make comments with one-click simplicity, avoiding frustrating Captcha codes to decipher. With an archive of 150 posts, Peter adds new content each Saturday.

“The old blogging platform was not being updated anymore,” stated Peter DeHaan, the blog’s chief writer. “WordPress presented an ideal solution, offering a familiar structure and providing many features to benefit readers.

I’m excited with its present capabilities and the future opportunities it provides. I enjoy connecting and interacting with blog readers; already the new Byline blog is nicely meeting that need.”

Read, comment, and follow Peter DeHaan’s Byline blog.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

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Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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Tags author Peter DeHaan, writing

Bible Insights

The Bible’s two Testaments

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date June 27, 2013

Transitioning from the Old to New Testament

Consider that the Bible’s two testaments, its two sections.

The Old Testament of the Bible presents God’s original way of interacting with his people (a covenant). It consists of a list of rules and expectations (the law).

The New Testament of the Bible introduces Jesus and a new way to interact with God. Jesus sets aside the old rules and asks people to believe in him (a new covenant).

When does this transition from the old way to the new way occur? It’s simplistic to say the Bible’s two Testaments represent the demarcation. I always thought the switch started in earnest when Jesus died and was completed when he resurrected.

However, Jesus says the old way of doing things applied until John the Baptist began baptizing people and telling them to get ready. This implies the new way begins when John points people to Jesus.

Perhaps John’s preaching is the pivotal point between the old and new ways of doing things.

Regardless of when the transition occurred, it has happened and Jesus provides a new way to connect with God.

[John 5:24, Luke 16:16, and Luke 9:23]

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Tags God, New Testament, Old Testament

Christian Living

What is Meant by Good Karma and Namaste?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date June 23, 2013
2 Comments on What is Meant by Good Karma and Namaste?

I used to do business with an India-based company whose employees ended every phone call by saying “Good Karma.” This perplexed me. How should I respond?

Was their ritual sendoff a theological reflection or merely their culture’s accepted way to say goodbye? I considered replying with “God bless” or some such response, but I usually just said “Goodbye,” if I said anything at all.

While karma is a common aspect of many Eastern religions, it’s not absent from my biblically-based perspective, either. Jesus said, “Give and it will be given” and “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Later Paul wrote, “A man reaps what he sows.” Don’t these passages imply karma, albeit within a biblical worldview?

I’d forgotten about this until recently, as I listened to a series of lectures online. The speaker ended each one, saying “Namaste,” a common Hindu valediction with diverse meanings. The bigger question is what did she mean?

Was she implying she was Hindu? Or was she offering a cosmopolitan flare to a possibly diverse audience?

Perhaps it was an effort to be cute or countercultural or unexpected. Each time, I envisioned her making a slight bow as she pressed her palms together with elbows extended.

Had we met in person, how should I react? I could respond in kind, repeating her word and duplicating her gesture. Or perhaps, I would nod and say “Goodbye,” giving her my cultural response.

In both of these situations, I desire to communicate respect without implying theological agreement.

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Tags God, spiritual journey

Christian Living

A Thought for Fathers Everywhere

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date June 16, 2013
3 Comments on A Thought for Fathers Everywhere

A friend recently asked for advice about fatherhood. Over the years, I’ve done some things right and some things wrong. I had much to share, but I wanted to reveal the best, the most important thing. Here it is:

There will always be time to work late, volunteer more, take it easy, or do the things we want to do for ourselves, but time spent with our children is precious and limited; we must savor it—for all too soon it will be too late.

Eventually we will run out of time. They will grow busier and have less time for us. Or we will run out of time altogether.

Regardless of their age, we need to invest in our children now. I think it’s the best investment we can make.

Happy Father’s Day!

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Tags advice, Father's Day, fathers, Heavenly Father

Bible Insights

Is God Mad At Us?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date June 13, 2013

The phrase “the Lord’s anger” occurs 29 times in the Bible. Is God an angry god, frequently mad at us for messing up? Does he enjoy punishing those who disappoint him? The answer is no.

This phrase only appears in the Old Testament of the Bible (before Jesus) but not at all in the New Testament, where Jesus places the focus on God’s love.

The Old Testament seems to show God is angry, while the New Testament reveals his love. Is the Bible talking about two different gods? Did God change from mad to loving?

Again, the answer is no. Anger and love come from the same God. We need to keep both traits in mind—and remember that Jesus made the difference.

[See the occurrences of “the Lord’s anger” in the Bible.]

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Tags God is love, God’s anger, Jesus

Christian Living

4 Questions about New Age Ideas

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date June 9, 2013

I recently listened to some people talk about spiritual matters. Their language perplexed me. While some of their expressions fit within my biblical worldview, other utterings did not.

I resist labeling people, but labels can aid in understanding, even though they’re more likely to produce misunderstanding.

I wondered if they operated within a New Age perspective, the melding of various Eastern and Western religious practices.

While I respect their search for spiritual enlightenment, their path is not one I embrace. My dilemma, however, was how to react to the things they were saying.

What Is Positive Energy?

One person asked everyone to “send positive energy” to someone who was struggling.

Should I interpret that as an opportunity to pray to Jesus for that person’s healing or dismiss it as heresy?

What Does Meditation Mean?

Then someone suggested meditating to find answers while bowed before an altar and with incense burning.

Could I understand that as quieting my heart before God and listening for the Holy Spirit’s direction? Or should I dismiss it?

Who Is the Divine?

A third person talked about praying to the divine.

Do I apply that as praying to the God of the Bible or reject it as making an impersonal petition to an abstract deity?

Should I Engage or Retreat?

These three questions, however, beg a bigger one—one for which I have no answer:

When confronted with divergent spiritual perspectives, can I practice my faith within the constructs of that religious structure or should I remove myself from this new age the situation?

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Tags heresy, religious language

Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: Multiply

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date June 7, 2013

Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples

By Francis Chan and Mark Beuving (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Many Christians—and the churches they attend—skip the part about making disciples. Though Jesus commanded us to make disciples and modeled how to do it, too often we neglect disciple-making altogether.

Even when we try to make disciples, we often reduce it to a weekly meeting. True discipleship is more. Francis says, “it’s living life together.”

His book Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples seeks to remedy the dearth of disciple-making efforts in the church today. Divided into five parts, Francis moves from living as a disciple maker, to living as church, to studying the Bible.

Then he covers how to understand the Old Testament and finally, the New Testament.

Ironically, the intent of Multiply is to cover the material in a series of structured weekly meetings, despite Francis’s initial criticism that discipleship is more than a once-a-week gathering.

Even so, Multiply is a great instrument to move people forward in the practice of making disciples. But the book is just one tool in the toolbox.

Supporting Multiply is a complementary website, complete with videos, a blog, and additional resources.

As Christians, we need to be disciples who are making disciples. Multiply can help us on our quest.

[Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples, by Francis Chan and Mark Beuving. Published by David C. Cook, 2012, ASIN: B009B246X0, Kindle edition]

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Tags church

Bible Insights

Remember God in the Good Times

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date June 6, 2013

As Moses prepares the Israelites to enter into the land God promised them, he reminds them of God’s instructions.

Moses looks forward to the time when the people will live in cities they didn’t build, drink from wells they didn’t dig, and eat from fields they didn’t plant.

They will be satisfied and he warns them to be careful and not forget God.

For many people, the hard times turn their focus to God. They seek answers, relief, and solace from someone greater then they, from God who can help them out of their predicament, whatever it may be.

However, during good times, many people tend to forget God. They become satisfied and think they’re self-sufficient. They forget it’s actually because of God that they’re living a good life.

Just as we seek God when life is bad, asking for his help, we need to remember God when life is good, thanking him for it.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Deuteronomy 1-3, and today’s post is on Deuteronomy 6:10-12.]

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Tags thank God

Christian Living

What I Learned From a Baby Bird

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date June 2, 2013

This week I found a baby Robin stuck in a 40-inch deep window well at my house. He was too young to fly. If I didn’t rescue him, he would starve to death.

This isn’t the first time something like this happened. I knew what to do.

I tied a rope to the handle on a pail, lowered it down, and tipped it on its side. Using a tool with a long handle, I nudged the baby bird into the pail.

As I returned the pail upright, he panicked and hopped out. I repeated the process but a bit quicker. This time he stayed in the pail as I lifted it up.

Pleased at how easy this was, I gently tipped the pail on its side and let him slide into some groundcover. Once free, he jumped back into the window well.

I again rescued him. This time I took him to the other side of the house to release him. Soon one of the baby bird’s parents joined him, staying with him on the ground until he learned to fly.

This reminded me of my relationship with God.

God wants the best for me, but I can’t always see what that might be. He provides freedom when I don’t fight his efforts to save me.
God helps me even when I don’t realize I’m in trouble. His perspective is beyond my comprehension.
God rescues me, but out of panic or habit, sometimes I return to what I know. But he loves me, helping me again and again.

Thank you God for using a baby Robin to teach me.

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Tags God

Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: Dallas and the Spitfire

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date May 31, 2013

An Old Car, An Ex-con, and An Unlikely Friendship

By Ted Kluck and Dallas Jahncke (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

With a sordid past and running out of options, ex-con and former addict Dallas Jahncke acquiesces to enter a drug rehabilitation program at a homeless shelter, one with a Christian perspective.

In addition to avoiding more jail time and becoming clean for the first time in years, Dallas also has an encounter with Jesus. To aid him on his journey, Ted Kluck is recruited to provide some ‘discipleship”—whatever that means.

Thirty-something Ted and twenty-something Dallas are about as unlikely a pair as imaginable. They emanate from different backgrounds, neighborhoods, social strata, and experiences.

Yet the two of them collaborate in life—and for this book, Dallas and the Spitfire: An Old Car, an Ex-con, and an Unlikely Friendship.

Discipleship, Ted discovers, is raw and unpredictable. Sitting in a coffee shop to pontificate faith or reading a book about God is not going to cut it. Dallas needs more.

Dallas needs a friend and a mentor. He needs acceptance and stability. He needs someone who will listen without judging, answer the phone at any hour, and pray at all times.

For their discipleship to work, they need an activity to do. So Ted buys an aging European sports car, a Triumph Spitfire, for them to coax back to life.

As Dallas teaches Ted about auto repair, Ted shows Dallas how to be a follower of Jesus.

Written as memoir, Ted’s story is interspersed with Dallas’s own words. The tale is gritty and honest. It’s a guy’s book about a guy’s world, avoiding pat answers or reducing discipleship to a methodology.

The result is a compelling read and an inspiring example. Truly discipling another person is not easy, but it is most rewarding.

Read Dallas and the Spitfire to vicariously live it—and then do it, if you dare.

[Dallas and the Spitfire: An Old Car, an Ex-con, and an Unlikely Friendship, by Ted Kluck and Dallas Jahncke. Published by Bethany House. 2012; ISBN: 978-0-7642-0961-1; 184 pages.]

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Tags memoir, mentor